1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe to be used for scanning an object to be inspected with ultrasonic waves, and a method of manufacturing the ultrasonic probe. Further, the present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using the ultrasonic probe.
2. Description of a Related Art
An ultrasonic probe to be used in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an arrayed transducer in which plural ultrasonic transducers for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves are one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally arranged. The arrayed transducer and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus are connected via a probe cable containing plural thin coaxial cables by using a dedicated connector connected to the arrayed transducer.
The wiring process of the coaxial cables for connecting the arrayed transducer to plural terminals provided on the dedicated connector had required a lot of effort and time because they are connected while correspondences between numbers on the ultrasonic transducers and numbers on the terminals are confirmed by measurement with a tester. Accordingly, the wiring process has been improved by color coding of coaxial cables as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication JP-P2003-61954A.
Recent years, with enhancement of ultrasonic diagnostic technology, the arranged number of arrayed transducers has become increasingly higher, coaxial cables have become thinner, and a number thereof contained in the probe cable has increased. In this regard, even when the color coding of coaxial cables as disclosed in JP-P2003-61954A is applied, the wiring process of the coaxial cables while correspondences between numbers on the ultrasonic transducers and numbers on the terminals are confirmed still requires a lot of effort and time, and therefore, the wiring process problem needs to be solved.